Posted!

Join the Conversation

Comments

Welcome to our new and improved comments, which are for subscribers only.
This is a test to see whether we can improve the experience for you.
You do not need a Facebook profile to participate.

You will need to register before adding a comment.
Typed comments will be lost if you are not logged in.

Please be polite.
It's OK to disagree with someone's ideas, but personal attacks, insults, threats, hate speech, advocating violence and other violations can result in a ban.
If you see comments in violation of our community guidelines, please report them.

Kathy Devitt used to covet her brother's Matchbox and Lego sets, but was always stuck with Barbie.

Now, the mother from Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey, delights in buying her 12-year-old daughter Lego kits for every holiday. In recent years, the Danish toymaker has expanded its collection for girls with mini figurines of female chemists, astronomers and paleontologists.

Girl power was on display at last week's preview of the new Legoland Discovery Center in Plymouth Meeting Mall, about a 45-minute drive from northern Delaware. Located at the intersection of four major roadways in the northwest suburbs of Philadelphia, the region's first indoor Lego amusement park boasts 10 play areas, including a Heartlake City with Lego girls Andrea, Mia, Olivia, Stephanie and Emma and their cute blocky animals.

"It's really cool because you can free build," says Bass, who helped construct a Lego computer with her cousin in under eight minutes.

Who knew that interlocking plastic bricks, responsible for many a hurt foot, could be so timeless — and so profitable. "The Lego Movie" and "The Lego Batman Movie" combined raked in more than $350 million, according to U.S. box office tallies.

Philly's Legoland officially opens Thursday, but three classrooms of local elementary schoolers recently got a sneak peek along with the media.

Before entering the 4D theater, the children tried to high-five Bertie, the Lego mascot, mocking his hand shaped like a clamp. They shrieked and kicked their seats in anticipation of "The Legends of Chima" film, based on a Lego television series and video game about tribes of warring animals. When an eagle's beak invaded their space, the kids jumped up to snatch it.

Outside, their classmates pretended to be ninja warriors as they bobbed and weaved in a laser tunnel. They hopped on the Imagination Express train, brandishing their star wands to knock out seashells and space aliens for points.

In other zones, kids built perfectly symmetrical race cars and tracked their speed, witnessed Lego skyscrapers topple during a simulated earthquake, and scooted across a pirate ship (one of the few areas not made of Legos).

But the real excitement was found in tubs of rainbow-colored blocks, unblocking the imagination with each snap.

Experienced Lego builders will hold daily workshops for children, who must be accompanied by adults at Legoland. Starting in July, adults will have access to monthly after-hours Lego parties.

All this activity is a boon to PREIT, the company that owns Plymouth Meeting Mall and a half-dozen shopping centers in the area. As major department stores close under pressure from online retailers, PREIT thinks the mall of the future will pack a day's worth of shopping, dining and family-friendly entertainment, according to company spokeswoman Heather Crowell. Plymouth Meeting Mall already offers pre- and post-natal fitness classes, a Whole Foods, Dave & Buster's and a movie theater. Within six months, the mall will announce another large-scale entertainment attraction, Crowell said.

"It's not just apparel and accessories anymore," she added. The mall "is really the heart of the community."

The $7 million Legoland Discovery Center consumed half of the mall's food court and forced the relocation of five retailers. It's the 17th in the world and the ninth in the U.S. Discovery Centers are different from Legoland theme parks, which are sprawling outdoor complexes with more rides. Both attractions are owned and operated by Merlin Entertainments, a British theme park company that also runs the Madame Tussauds chain of celebrity wax museums.

Lincoln Financial Field is erected from plastic bricks.(Photo: Courtesy of Legoland Discovery Center)

The 33,000-square-foot Lego playground is marketed to children ages 2 to 12 (there are a million of them within an hour's drive of the mall). Children under 5 may be more comfortable in the Duplo wing, where the blocks don't pose a choking hazard. Yes, the bricks are cleaned daily.

A single-admission ticket, which costs $19 to $24, buys access to all attractions. Extras include $3 hot chocolate from the cafe and Lego souvenirs piled high in the gift shop — the only exit. Birthday parties cost $500 for 25 people.

The crown jewel of Philly's Legoland is a miniland of 50 iconic city landmarks built from 1.5 million bricks. It took a team of 20 expert Lego model builders about six months to create the the interactive miniland after fans voted on their favorites.

Press a button and a Rocky the size of a thumb sprints up the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum, the Parthenon on the Parkway. Rowers glide on the east bank of the Schuylkill River in front of an illuminated Boathouse Row. A construction worker jackhammers a street in the heart of the city, near City Hall, the Love statue and historic brick row houses.

Down in South Philly, dueling cheesesteak stands Pat's and Geno's attract a horde of (likely grumbly) figurines.

Astronauts and leprechauns face off at a packed Lincoln Financial Field. Is that the Statue of Liberty in the balcony? Moses in the fourth row? And why does nearly everyone have a yellow face?

That's the lure of Legoland: Endless possibilities.

Children ages 2 to 5 can build with larger bricks in the Duplo area.(Photo: Courtesy of Legoland Discovery Center)